Bootstrapped startups often use part-time non-startup work as funding for their actual product. All indications are that it is very hard to keep your focus and energy high enough to make progress, but all indications are also that any way you start your business is hard.
37signals still did one week design reviews after basecamp launched. MailChimp launched in 2001 but the team continued to do web development on the side until 2006.
If you aren't doing a venture backed startup, you need cash. You can either burn through your savings, build a consulting practice around your product (I did this with CrowdVine), or have side work.
When I made the switch to go full time on CrowdVine I gave up an agile software development training gig in favor of consulting for CrowdVine customers. I think it was the wrong move and that the training gig, which only took six days a month, would have been a lot more effective way to bootstrap.
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Bootstrapped startups often use part-time non-startup work as funding for their actual product. All indications are that it is very hard to keep your focus and energy high enough to make progress, but all indications are also that any way you start your business is hard.
37signals still did one week design reviews after basecamp launched. MailChimp launched in 2001 but the team continued to do web development on the side until 2006.
If you aren't doing a venture backed startup, you need cash. You can either burn through your savings, build a consulting practice around your product (I did this with CrowdVine), or have side work.
When I made the switch to go full time on CrowdVine I gave up an agile software development training gig in favor of consulting for CrowdVine customers. I think it was the wrong move and that the training gig, which only took six days a month, would have been a lot more effective way to bootstrap.